Yelp Taps YP To Expand Content, Ad Network

Yelp has inked a deal
with YP to improve the quality of information seen on business listing pages and expand its distribution within the YP Local Ad Network. The agreement follows a deal with Yahoo last month, where Yahoo integrates Yelp's ratings in search results.

Darren Clark, CTO of YP, said small businesses that purchase an advertising package gain access to YP's 70 million unique visitors on its properties, as well as across its networks of ad partners
like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. The deal is a way to extend the reach of the YP local ad network.

The deal marries YP's advertising and sales effort with Yelp's consumers, but it also helps
to update posts on both search platforms. Backend integration allows businesses to make changes to their profile on YP. When the business also has an existing profile on Yelp, both are updated
simultaneously.

Mike Ghaffary, VP of business development at Yelp, said "bringing together our audience and their advertisers provides a compelling proposition and support for consumers."

Yelp will rely on YP's local sales force and advertising support. The company has been working to build out its advertising services and expand reach for companies. An estimated 120 million unique
visitors search on Yelp each month to decide on where they should eat or the type of purchases they should make, according to Matt Halprins, VP or revenue and analytics at Yelp.

Halprins, in a
blog post, points to stats from a study done by The Boston Consulting Group last year,
which found that Yelp advertisers generate average annual revenue of more than $23,000 from Yelp, while advertisers spend $4,200 annually.

The deal aims to allow local businesses and consumers
to find and connect with more services that they search for online. For businesses, YP offers services like real-time mapping of mobile calls and analytics reporting. In January, the company acquired
Sense Networks, a mobile targeting company.